When Mikaela Shiffrin can coast through the second run and still win the race, her rivals know the American has rediscovered her best skiing in giant slalom.
Seeking her first win of the season in the discipline, Shiffrin held on to a big first-run lead to triumph in a women’s World Cup GS amid tough course conditions Thursday.
It was Shiffrin’s 22nd career win in GS and 92nd overall — both are World Cup records.
“It’s really amazing to have some good training days last week, and come here and show some of my top skiing now,” Shiffrin said. “For sure, I managed the second run a little bit more, but it felt like good skiing.”
Shiffrin lost most of her first-leg advantage as she skied a rather conservative final run, posting only the 17th fastest time. But it was enough to beat Federica Brignone by 0.38 seconds, a result that sent the Italian to the top of the discipline standings.
Sara Hector, the Olympic GS champion from Sweden, dropped from second after the opening run to third, trailing Shiffrin by 0.45.
“The second run was great skiing with a little bit more space,” said Shiffrin, who lost 1.25 seconds on Brignone in that final run. “Federica, a few more gates and she would have probably taken it. So, that’s the next thing to learn for the coming races: you have to push in the second run.”